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2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 23
BY REPRESENTATIVE JORDAN AND SENATOR B OUIE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To express the condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of Sir Edward
"Kidd" Jordan.
WHEREAS, it is with immense sadness and profound regret that the members of the
Legislature of Louisiana have learned of the passing, on April 7, 2023, of jazz maverick and
legendary saxophonist, Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan; and
WHEREAS, Kidd Jordan was born in Crowley, Louisiana, on May 5, 1935, and grew
up listening to zydeco and blues music; he learned to play saxophone at a young age and,
after hearing the music of Charlie Parker and Lester Young, became interested in the art of
jazz improvisation; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan continued to grow as a musician while he attended Ross
High School in Crowley; after earning his diploma, he attended Southern University, where
he advanced his music studies under the guidance of the university's band director, T. Leroy
Davis, and two woodwind teachers, John Banks and Huel Perkins; while attending Southern,
he also connected with another future musical legend, his bandmate and Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity brother, Alvin Batiste; and
WHEREAS, after receiving a bachelor's degree, Mr. Jordan relocated to New Orleans
in 1955 and began playing R&B sets alongside musicians such as Guitar Slim, Ray Charles,
Big Maybelle, Big Joe Turner, Lloyd Lambert, Lawrence Cotton, Chuck Willis, George
Adams, and Choker Campbell; he also spent time in the historic Faubourg Tremé as an
instructor at the William Houston School of Music before beginning a formal teaching career
at Bethune High School in Norco, Louisiana, in 1955; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan eventually continued his education at Millikin University
in Decatur, Illinois, where he earned a master's degree in music; he also pursued post-
graduate summer studies with reed maker Fred Hempke at Northwestern University in
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Evanston, Illinois; in 1972, he accepted a position as a professor of music at Southern
University at New Orleans; over the course of his thirty-four years as a professor, he shared
his vision of improvisation and encouraged his students to find their most authentic creative
voices; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan also served as chair of Southern University at New Orleans's
Jazz Studies Program; in this role, he organized the first performance of the legendary World
Saxophone Quartet featuring Hamiet Bluiett, David Murray, Julius Hemphil, and Oliver
Lake; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Jordan was an incredibly humble and civic-minded individual; in
addition to his work at Southern, he dedicated more than twenty-five years as the artistic
director for the Louis Armstrong Satchmo Jazz Camp and as a teacher at the Jazz and
Heritage School of Music; and
WHEREAS, in keeping with the adage that no man is an island entire of itself, Mr.
Jordan taught countless students, including well-known musicians such as Wynton and
Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Leroy Adams,
Calvin Johnson, Sammie "Big Sam" Williams, Charles Joseph, Julius Handy, Curley
Blanchard, Gary Brown, Kirk Ford, Raymond Deggs, George Pack, Richard Moten, John
Longo, Reggie Houston, Wendell Brunius, Abe Thompson, Maynard Chatters, Jr., Elton
Heron, Carl LeBlanc, Darrell Lavigne, Tony Dagradi, Jonathan "Jon" Batiste, Chief Xian
aTunde Adjuah, Gregory Davis, and others; and
WHEREAS, Kidd Jordan performed and recorded with a broad array of musicians
in styles ranging from R&B to avant-garde jazz, including Lena Horne, Aretha Franklin,
Nancy Wilson, Gladys Knight, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, R.E.M., Art
Neville, Aaron Neville, Johnny Adams, Deacon John, Ellis Marsalis, Cannonball Adderley,
Alvin Batiste, Archie Shepp, Dewey Redmond, Fred Anderson, Ornette Coleman, Sun RA,
William Parker, Hamid Drake, Alan Silva, Ed Blackwell, and Cecil Taylor; he was a
member of two prominent New Orleans Big Bands, William Houston, and Herb Tassin; and
WHEREAS, Indie Jazz described Kidd Jordan as "a 'genteel man' who is probably
the single most under-documented jazz musician of his generation"; his true legacy lies,
however, in his selfless dedication to sharing his passion for music with his community and
the world for more than five decades; his legacy will live on through the establishment of
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the Kidd Jordan Institute of Jazz and Modern Music, an arts education entity dedicated to
the preservation of avant-garde music through arts collaboration, and through the massive
impact he has had on generations of musicians.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express heartfelt condolences on the death of Sir Edward "Kidd" Jordan; does hereby
recognize Mr. Jordan's selfless dedication to his community through music education; and
does hereby extend sincerest wishes that his family, friends, and former colleagues all find
comfort in his music and in their shared memories of his truly beautiful life.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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